The One With The Embryos
"The One With The Embryos" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of Friends, which aired on January 15, 1998. Plot Chandler and Joey's "chick" starts crowing, which the girls next door are not amused with at all. But their anger vanishes into excitement for Phoebe, who goes to the clinic - having accepted Frank Jr. and Alice's request, she is about to become their surrogate mother. However, she freaks out when she finds out that it's five embryos she's being implanted with and not one, although not as freaked out when she learns that with five embryos, there's only 25% chance of working at all. At Monica's, Joey bets Monica he and Chandler know more about them than she and Rachel know about the guys. Quick to scoff in disbelief, Monica is also quick to lose when the guys manage to guess all of Rachel's items in her shopping bag. This quickly turns into a full-fledged trivia quiz about who know more about whom, Ross being the judge. Stakes fly high, but the quiz ends in a tie, and money is not enough for the challenge to be settled, so the girls ask the guys to get rid of their animals should the former win. Chandler and Joey only accept on one behalf - if the girls lose, the guys take their apartment. Super-competitive Monica is quick to shake hands on the deal, but Rachel has doubts about this risky bet. However, there isn't much time to mull the decisions as the nerve-wrecking "lightning round" is about to start. Chandler and Joey get three questions right, but the girls only manage two. As promised, Chandler and Joey swap apartments and start moving their furniture in. Phoebe, still freaked out about the low chances of pregnancy, joins the group, and when the pregnancy test results negative, she sits upside-down on the chair to "let gravity do its job". Frank Jr and Alice come over with another pregnancy test for her, which she takes. Rachel and Monica are still mad at losing the apartment to Joey and Chandler, and a big fight sparks off, when Phoebe comes out of the bathroom with a huge smile on her face - the pregnancy test is positive, and she'll be having her brother's baby. Cast and Crew Main Cast Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green Courtney Cox - Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing David Schwimmer - Ross Geller Supporting Cast Giovanni Ribisi - Frank Buffay Jr. Debra Jo Rupp - Alice Knight Buffay Cindy Katz - Dr. Zane Crew Directed By: Kevin S. Bright Written By: Jill Condon & Amy Toomin The Answers On The Trivia Quiz *Monica's nickname as field hockey goalie: Big Fat Goalie *Number of categories of towel at Monica's: 11 *First name of Monica and Ross's late grandmother: Althea *Chandler's father's all-gay Las Vegas burlesque show: Viva Las Gay-gas. *Phenomenon that "scares the beejesus" out of Chandler: Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance *Chandler's age when he first touched a girl's breast: 19 *TV Guide delivered to Joey and Chandler addressed to "Miss Chanandler Bong" *Joey's childhood imaginary friend: Maurice, a "space cowboy" *Joey's favorite food: Sandwiches *Rachel claims Dangerous Liasions is her favorite movie; her real favorite movie is Weekend At Bernie's Reception In a 2001 review, Entertainment Weekly rates the episode A+, stating that "Thanks to the trivia contest alone, Embryos is quite possibly Friends' finest moment". It singles out Rachel's line "He's a transpon-transpondster!" (in response to the question "What is Chandler Bing's job?") as the best of the episode. The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends call it a "sure-fire contender for the best episode of all time ... not one to be missed under any circumstances". The episode is the favorite of Cox and LeBlanc. Cox likes the episode because she enjoys playing Monica at her most competitive, while LeBlanc spoke fondly of the pace of the episode and the information about the characters that came out. He identified scenes that featured just the six core cast as the best, "because you don't have to introduce a character -- you don't have to lay any pipeline -- you just get right to the funny". Continuity *During the contest, the "extended part" of the living room table, that makes it square is pointing to the couch, but, right after the coin toss, there is a shot where it is shown pointing to the window. 'Episode Navigation' Category:Episodes